The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Teacher donates kidney to student
Surgeries went well for Grace Christian Academy instructor, student.
A Paulding County teacher is giving the gift of life to one of his students.
Kaden Koebcke, 12, has needed a new kidney for most of his life. On Tuesday, Kaden underwent a transplant at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. The donor is William Wilkinson — Kaden’s sixth-grade technology teacher at Grace Christian Academy in Powder Springs.
“There are no words to even begin to describe how this is making me feel for Will to give this amazing gif tt o my son,” said Cami Koebcke, Kaden’s mother, in a phone interview from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “There is no greater gift.” Last year, Kaden’s family started a Facebook page, Kaden’s Kidney Search, to find a living donor. Several people got tested.
In May, the Koebcke family learned from Kaden’s doctor a match had been made. At the end of the school year, Wilkin- son, who has a son about the same age as Kade n,andisfri ends with the Koebcke family, stopped by their house in Hiram.
Cami Koebcke remembered Wilkinson asking, “Would you like to know who the donor is?”
Of course, the family wanted to know, but strict privacy rules generally prevent hospitals from sharing personal information about donors, at least initially. Overtime, donors and recipients can typically connect if both donor and recipient provide consent. So the family told Wilkinson that yes, they would love to know who was donating a kidney for their son, thinking the donor could be anywhere—perhaps someone in their community or perhaps someone on the other side of the country. “Well, it’s me,” said Wilkinson. “We were all so shocked. We almost fell to the floor,” said Cami Koebcke.
Kaden was diagnosed with a kidney disease when he was 2 years old. At age5,h e underwent a transplant, receiving a kidney from his father. But it didn’t work out, and the new kidney had to be removed within days of the
transplant.
For several years, Kaden underwent nightly dialysis at home, but as his condition grew more dire over the last couple of years, he required dialysis three times a week at a clinic.
Wilkinson has been Kaden’s technology teacher for at least two years. They are both part of a closeknit school community. One of Wilkinson’s sons, William, and Kaden were in Cub Scouts together, but as Kaden’s health deteriorated, Kaden was no longer able to participate in the activities.
Wilkinson’s wife, Veronica Wilkinson, said she was surprised when her husband first told her about his plans to get tested to see if he was a donor match for Kaden.
“I was both surprised and moved to be honest because I didn’t think it would be the type of thing he would do,” said Veronica Wilkinson in a phone interview. “But he told me that God has a plan, and God’s plan was over his heart and he was going to pursue testing and see if he was a match for Kaden.”
Once it was determined that Wilkinson, who is 44, was a perfect match for Kaden, there was no question he would move forward with donating a kidney.
“We are people of faith,” said Veronica Wilkinson. “We don’t believe something like this happens by coincidence.”
Both surgeries took place Tuesday. The surgery went well for Kaden, but doctors and nurses are monitoring him closely for signs of possible complications.
The surgery went well for Wilkinson, who underwent surgery at nearby Emory University Hospital, according to family. He will likely be off work for about six weeks.